PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (fourth from the left) and other participants at the summit (Source: VNA)SiemReap (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has suggested the MekongRiver Commission (MRC) give priority to fully and effectively implementing the1995 Mekong Agreement and promoting its monitoring and coordinating role in performingthe commitments of the MRC member countries.
Speakingat the third Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Siem Reap, Cambodia onApril 5, he stressed the prime concern of the Vietnamese Government is how to respondto negative impacts caused by climate change in the Mekong Delta region,extreme weather phenomena and human activities.
He urged the MRC to focus on building development planning framework in the MekongRiver basin to harmonize with the water resources planning of countries, and promotethe implementation of cooperation projects.
TheVietnamese leader also stressed the need to enhance the sharing of informationand data related to the basin, and boost coordination and connectivity between theMRC and its dialogue partners and development partners, and cross-border riverbasin management organisations, thus mobilising resources, and collecting managementexperience and modern technologies for the implementation of sub-regional cooperationinitiatives.
Withthe theme “'Enhancing Joint Efforts and Partnerships towards Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Mekong River Basin,” the summit saw theattendance of the Prime Ministers of the four members of the MRC namely Cambodia,Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. It also saw the participation of the Minister ofWater Resources of China and the Minister of Environment of Myanmar, the twodialogue countries of the MRC, and representatives from other developmentpartners.
The summit reviewed cooperation within the commissionand the implementation of commitments made at the second summit in Vietnam’s HoChi Minh City in 2014, while identifying priority areas in the next periods.
The leaders affirmed their resolve to push Mekong cooperationin order to utilise development opportunities and overcome challenges.
They agreed to apply the set of procedures of thecommission on the sustainable, reasonable and equal use of water resources andother resources of the Mekong River.
They shared the view that the MRC should promote itsrole in orienting cooperation and setting forth specific measures in order toachieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the region.
It is necessary to enhance cooperation with mechanismsin and outside the region such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN), the Mekong-Lancang cooperation, the Greater Mekong Sub-regioncooperation and other international river basin management organisations, whileencouraging public involvement in these efforts, the summit heard.
The delegates approved the Siem Reap Declaration whichacknowledges achievements recorded by the commission, points to opportunitiesand challenges for the Mekong River Basin and affirms the importance of Mekongcooperation as well as the acceleration of the implementation of the 1995Mekong Agreement.
The document also outlines priority activities of thecommission for the next four years and long-term orientations for cooperationwithin the commission.
Later on the day, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc left Siem Reap for Hanoi.
In 1956, the Mekong Committee was established under theauspices of the United Nations to coordinate aid and manage resources in theriver basin. In 1995, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam signed an Agreementon the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River and setup the MRC, replacing the Mekong Committee.
The MRC holds its summit every four years,starting from 2010. The first MRC summit was held in Hua Hin, Thailand in 2010and the second one took place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2014.-VNA
VNA
